I have used Linux for over 10 years now !! The actual installation is easy, Problems start when trying to install periphials such as printers ect,ect most drivers seem to offer only basic fuctionality if your hardware is supported at all !!Also,most open source free software (ie apps) fall far below the standard of commercial windows offerings for example:- gimp v photoshop. The command line beloved of linux gurus whilst powerfull is likely to give you repetitive strain injury However I think the biggest downer in recent years is that all the best developers seem to have their heads in the clouds or should I say the cloud and seem to have lost interest in desktop development. Linux is very secure though and YOU, not a corporation are in control. To sum up IF you are fluent in C or another programming language and have IN DEPTH knowledge of how computers actually work then 'go for it' !! else stick with win10 the ulcers in your stomach will thank you for it.

It really depends on what you want to do with the Linux system. If your existing one works well for you, then installing pretty much any of the current builds will be quite easy. If, on the other hand, you keep wishing for a particular package to run, and that package is not available for Linux, then that will be a problem.

I have (at last count), three (no, 4) linux systems. I run my mail and calendar on one, my spam trap on another, use a third one for storage with large drives, and the 4th one runs my audio system. Yes, there are Windows systems for my wife to use, because her CAD program only runs on Windows.... And I hear her cursing Microsoft daily.

Linux installs are a piece of cake. Not sure why this is even a concern in this day and age, even if you are not some sort of "techie". "Command Line" Linux is rarely, if ever, needed and you boot up into a nice GUI interface of one kind or another. Installing and uninstalling programs is easy, and they are by and large freeware.

Support for "peripherals" is another thing altogether. Windows has a huge MFG driver delivery system and MFGs target their products for this environment. Linux does not garner that kind of support but does have established standards for many interfaces. But when the MFG comes up with some non standard feature for their new product you are out of luck since it probably will not be supported under Linux soon, if ever, although core features will probably work out of the box. Take USB audio devices, for example. I can get most to play audio, but there won't do direct monitoring or have a fancy mixer, etc. These are part of a MFG's software/driver and they usually do not provide that for the Linux environment. But I can find out info about these issues using a few internet searches and these limitations are not a problem for my particular wants and needs. YMMV.

I have 5 or 6 small form factor Linux machines (plus multiple Raspberry Pi SBCs) in my collection. My worst experiences have been with ARM boards and now I avoid them (R-Pi is great, however, it has rather limited computing power). Intel (and probably AMD) systems have excellent OS support under Linux.

FauxFrench - you've nailed a problem I have right now. If I want to find a solution I find it difficult to establish a route to find the answer and a lot of the language is techie. So many downloads are for programmes i will never use.

I shall definitely ask questions about suitability with both the laptop and the desktop. I think my wife will stay with the dev/Windows she knows (a little about).

If you intend to use Linux I recommend NOT to use a new PC. You may run into problems as the linux community takes some time to create appropriate drivers. We had such a problem at our company with a brandnew Lenovo laptop: problems with graphic adapter, LAN was not working at all. Two years later everything was fixed.

Just an addendum to my earlier post if your computer is new you might run into problems with the EFI boot system (Microsofts latest wheeze to lock you in) It all depends on the maufacturer of your hardware !! However you may be able to try before you buy by testing linux by running from a LIVE dvd or usb stick this approach is the safest. Also Linux can read/write windows hard drives but windows cant recognise linux drives mind you I am not certain if this applies to the latest win10 os??? As I said earlier security is the linux strong point and software/hardware compatibility the windows strong point. Good luck any way Best regards John

Yatsushiro,
Manjaro is the Linux I'm using now and i find it really difficult to access info, the language is really techie. I used to get so many updates which were completely irrelevant for me. strangely the last few months - no updates, I look daily.

I'm looking to buy an Azulle Byte 3 which is Linux compatible. From experience all those who warned about compatibility with hardware - they are right. I had to use an expensive professional to connect my printer. Apparently only about 1% use Linux in France.

To sum up IF you are fluent in C or another programming language and have IN DEPTH knowledge of how computers actually work then 'go for it' !!

I've used Linux as my primary desktop since Red Hat 5 and don' know a stitch of C. Typical popular distros cover the bulk of normal user requirements with no muss or fuss. Gimp is a great example. I've lost track of how many chumps... er users I've seen buy Photo$hop to resize and colour correct smartphone pictures. In some cases Linux has been plug and play with peripherals, like >96/24 USB audio devices, that never worked under Win 7, or required disabling driver signatures, or didn't work in Win 10 until long after it launched.
Each path has it's advantage depending on use case but 2018 Linux in no way requires deep programming chops for normal daily use.

I've used Linux as my primary desktop since Red Hat 5 and don' know a stitch of C. Typical popular distros cover the bulk of normal user requirements with no muss or fuss. Gimp is a great example. I've lost track of how many chumps... er users I've seen buy Photo$hop to resize and colour correct smartphone pictures. In some cases Linux has been plug and play with peripherals, like >96/24 USB audio devices, that never worked under Win 7, or required disabling driver signatures, or didn't work in Win 10 until long after it launched.
Each path has it's advantage depending on use case but 2018 Linux in no way requires deep programming chops for normal daily use.

agreed
Privately I use linux since SUSE 4.2, on work Win10.
Meanwhile I can say the most hassle in real life occurs with Windows - not with Linux.

The reason I mentioned C in my previous posts is that the 'correct' way to install software is to compile from source using the gcc compiler and C make otherwise software becomes VERY version specific, Knowledge of programming is very usefull in this regard.Now Ubuntu and a few other distros DO maintain a huge collection of programs that are pre-compiled can be installed 'windows style' with a few mouse clicks. But the origional questioner has seen these and pronounced them 'of not much interest' (same as me) many packages are half-baked prototypes and are also riddled with bugs (just look at the user comments and star ratings!!) Interestingly the best of these Open source packages and some are very very good, have been ported to other OS's ie windows. To me the greatest plus of linux is freedom from spyware,viruses and other malware as there is NO secret code going on in the background nor is there any ''Political'' reasons to nobble the system. But I think it's time for me to close now before our audio forum is turned into a computing forum.